Crime Report for January 10

Man pleads guilty in hammer assault case

January 10, 2013

MARTINSBURG -A Martinsburg man accused of striking a woman in the head with a hammer during a home invasion robbery last year pleaded guilty Monday in Berkeley County Circuit Court to charges of first-degree robbery, malicious assault and burglary.

John Kenneth Walters, 49, of no fixed address, entered the pleas as part of an agreement that saw three remaining counts of an indictment charging him with attempted murder, domestic battery and assault in the commission of a felony dismissed.

According to the terms of the plea agreement, the court will be unfettered in sentencing and both the defense and prosecution will be able to argue at sentencing. Prosecutors will also not pursue any recidivist action against Walters. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 18.

According to court records, on Jan. 14, 2012, Deputy Michael St. Clair of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department responded to the victim's residence in Inwood for a report of a malicious wounding. The victim, who was struck over the head with a hammer, was transported to City Hospital in Martinsburg for a laceration to the head.

St. Clair found a window in the victim's basement was pried open and the screen was cut. There was also a bloody hammer on the floor in the living room and a crowbar on the bed in the bedroom. Blood was found in the kitchen, bedroom and on the railing of the stairwell.

St. Clair later spoke with the victim at the hospital. She told police that at about 6:30 a.m. she was sleeping and was woken up by a sound coming from inside her house. The victim called 911 and told dispatchers she heard someone in her house. Walters came into her bedroom, she said, grabbed a hammer from a nearby tool box and struck her in the head.

Walters told the victim that he wanted money and knew she had money in her room. The victim complied with his demands and gave Walters $700 to $800. Walters is being held at Eastern Regional Jail while awaiting sentencing.

Md. man enters plea to firearms charge

MARTINSBURG - A Maryland man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal firearms charge in Martinsburg's U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel.

U.S. Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld II announced Wednesday that Wilbur Slick, 60, of Sharpsburg entered a plea of guilty to one count of sale of a firearm to a prohibited person. Slick was accused of selling the firearm on Aug. 8, 2012, in Harpers Ferry. Slick, who is on bond pending sentencing, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod J. Douglas and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Two in custody after bank robbery

CHARLES TOWN - Candace Brooke Leber, 28, and Darius Wayne Cook, 27, both of Martinsburg, were arraigned in Jefferson County magistrate court Wednesday after allegedly attempting to rob the Bank of Charles Town branch in Kearneysville on Tuesday.